Pediatric Obesity

These scaly plaques on the scalp of a 32-year-old man have failed to respond to a topical antifungal. The patient has a 3-year history of pulmonary sarcoidosis.

A 24-year-old man is concerned about a large, hairy "mole" on his left shoulder. The lesion appeared during adolescence as a group of small, dark blotches. These eventually coalesced into a hyperpigmented patch with hair and acne.

In many instances, our patients receive invasive and aggressive subspecialty care at or near the end of life. Such care can become burdensome and painful without a favorable outcome. As advocates for our patients, we must ensure that their pain, shortness of breath, and other bothersome symptoms are alleviated, thus leading to a “good death.”

A linear, severely pruritic rash erupted on the lateral and plantar aspects of the left foot of a 72-year-old woman who had recently been camping on a Caribbean beach. Antihistamines and locally applied antifungal agents offered no relief.

Beans are a super healthy, super versatile, super affordable food. Beans are high in antioxidants, fiber, protein, B vitamins, iron, magnesium, potassium, copper and zinc. Eating beans regularly may decrease the risk for diabetes, heart disease, and colorectal cancer and helps with weight management.

The mother of a 4-year-old boy noticed a rash on her son's left shoulder the day before. The otherwise healthy, asymptomatic boy plays outdoors daily in his hometown of West Virginia. Earlier in the week, he told his mother that he had felt a "scab" on his shoulder and had picked it off.

A15-year-old girl was referred to a pediatric endocrinologist for evaluation of hyperthyroidism. Her primary concerns were intermittent increases in heart rate and appetite (with a weight gain of 7 kg within the past year), feeling hot at night even in winter, persistent lower extremity edema that had been present since age 4 years, and difficulty in concentrating. She denied having diarrhea, sweating, fatigue, breathing difficulties, hair loss, or changes in hair texture.

For 3 days, a 7-year-old girl had severe, generalized abdominal pain. The patient described the pain as sharp and achy without radiation; she denied any relieving or aggravating factors. She also reported decreased appetite and energy for the past week.

The rash on this 4-week-old girl had appeared 5 days earlier on her face as thickened scales on an erythematous base and subsequently spread to the scalp, shoulder, chest, abdomen, and extremities. A few bullae were noted on the neck and hands. Initial treatment with cephalexin failed to control the rash, and the infant was admitted to the hospital for further evaluation.